Um no, is it smutty TV? For sure, but it's like the zoo. These girls aren't seriously thinking about getting knocked up for kicks. Most of them are
gawking like people do at the reptile house. That's all it is. Most of the girls I know who see that show aren't jonesing to have babies. If
anything they are running in the other direction.

"car accident rates are down 75%" but don't neglect to tell me "90% of vehicles were taken off the road"

My agenda is not abortion rights. What a person does with their body and baby is between them and their higher up, I will say I don't agree because
in a perfect world they wont be needed and a perfect world is possible.

My concern is what influence these shows might have on young minds. We already know kids will follow what they see on tv or in games if proper
guidance by parents isn't there.

Again most of us on ATS and our inner circles are probably average or above average on intelligence or basic understanding of the world around us. Now
get the options of girls from inner cities where these girls are having kids like fashion accessories. This world shouldn't be about entertaining the
intellegent at the possible harm of the less than informed. But then again it gets into the first admenemt and I get blown to pieces on that.

I'm just trying to piece together the social and economic downfall of what is called the greatest nation on earth.

Now get the options of girls from inner cities where these girls are having kids like fashion accessories.

No, you don't know a thing about those girls. You don't know a thing about the lives they live. You try growing up in broken homes with parents who
can barely scrape by and see how you fair. They aren't popping out babies as fashion accessories. It's called absent parenting and looking for love in
all the wrong places. These girls seek intimacy in whatever way they can.

I stopped judging people when I realized I have never walked in their shoes. The day you are born into their reality is the day you can proclaim they
are having babies for show. I know women who had babies as teenagers and none of them did it because they saw it on TV.

This world shouldn't be about entertaining the intellegent at the possible harm of the less than informed.

Intelligent people should be offended by the reduction of human beings to zoo animals not entertained by it.

I'd just like to say that Teen Mom and similar shows are not the only things that so called promote teen pregnancy. It's almost all TV, the media,
social networking, lack of discipline, lack of morals, lazy culture, overall bad parenting, clothing styles, and music.

We cannot blame a few TV shows on teen pregnancy. It is ludicrous! It comes down to culture which encompasses all of the above. It comes down to
marriage not being the norm any more and people accepting it.

I personally find nothing wrong with a girl of 17+ getting pregnant. After all, those are the PRIME years, biologically speaking, to conceive a child.
I graduated high school at 17. I got my degree, but you know what...college was pointless and a waste of money for the most part. If she can take care
of her child (which many, many can), then they should not be part of the statistic.

As far as 14-16 year olds getting pregnant, lets take a looksie at their home life...most have young moms themselves! Most have broken families! Most
have a mother who conceived them out of wedlock.

I sometimes wish I would have gotten pregnant young (in those best years to conceive) and possibly out of wedlock because now it seems like I might
not get that chance.

If there are day cares in schools then there are teenage pregnancy problems. Of course the rates of pregnancy would be down when a HUGE portion of
high schoolers are now on birth control and take plan B like daily vitamins. What happens when the birth control fails they just get abortions. Even
further down on this is teen sex and if we want to argue if STDs are rising or not you might have to eat crow on that one because the easy access to
the pill increases STds becuse only condoms prevent stds.

Again My point I'm trying to make is weather or not the show is having a positive or negative impact and since you can't say anything Nice I'll say
you probably would agree it should come off the air.

The show infact glamorized those girls. If it was not the fact they were unwed teenage moms they would be nobodies to the world. The show took
something we were trying to say was negative and turned a handful of girls into celebrities. Now who is going to speak for the babies when they are
humiliated becuse of the circumstances of their moms fame.

I'm from Ohio and lets just say the Midwest isn't where all the geniuses hang out. No offense if you live there but you probably understand what I'm
saying. The women and girls from my part of the country will have 3 kids before they can legally buy a drink and they eat these shows up. They relate
to the girls like they are Friends. These girls that love the show have kids just for the sake of having kids it's bad. I think it just goes to show
that what might not influence you and your slice of earth might be taken as holy scripture to someone else.

The more threads I post on here the more I learn that what might be serious issues to some areas Are none issues to others. Which is good because I
always thought that the world should be ran in tiny sections that are united in common shared end goals.

Originally posted by marbles87
Again My point I'm trying to make is weather or not the show is having a positive or negative impact and since you can't say anything Nice I'll say
you probably would agree it should come off the air.

The show infact glamorized those girls. If it was not the fact they were unwed teenage moms they would be nobodies to the world. The show took
something we were trying to say was negative and turned a handful of girls into celebrities. Now who is going to speak for the babies when they are
humiliated becuse of the circumstances of their moms fame.

You seem to be one of the few coming to that conclusion.

I'm from Ohio and lets just say the Midwest isn't where all the geniuses hang out. No offense if you live there but you probably understand
what I'm saying. The women and girls from my part of the country will have 3 kids before they can legally buy a drink and they eat these shows up.
They relate to the girls like they are Friends. These girls that love the show have kids just for the sake of having kids it's bad. I think it just
goes to show that what might not influence you and your slice of earth might be taken as holy scripture to someone else.

But the facts posted show that if anything it has a positive influence on the population in general or at least it isn't having the negative effect
you seem to be making up.

Originally posted by marbles87
I'm from Ohio and lets just say the Midwest isn't where all the geniuses hang out. No offense if you live there but you probably understand what
I'm saying. The women and girls from my part of the country will have 3 kids before they can legally buy a drink and they eat these shows up. They
relate to the girls like they are Friends. These girls that love the show have kids just for the sake of having kids it's bad. I think it just goes
to show that what might not influence you and your slice of earth might be taken as holy scripture to someone else.

Well, I don't like the fact you are calling these women stupid but, I can't disagree with what you are saying about their child bearing habits. I
often joke about how behind I am since I am 30, only have one child and am still on my first marriage. Almost all the other women around here have
been divorced at least once and have three kids. Hell, I was married 5 years before I had my son, so I understand where you are coming from. I think
that is attributable to the way people raise women to think about themselves. My mother worked when I was growing up and it wasn't just for play
money for herself. She took her job seriously, she wasn't just seen as the breeder oven. It was always stressed to me that being a mother was great
but it wasn't everything. Most of the girls I knew weren't expected to be "smart". They were expected to be pretty and marry well, but this is the
south and I live in a very conservative state. When you are raised to only see yourself as a mother and wife then what are you naturally going to go
for?

Hell, you should see the looks I get when these women ask me when I'm having another kid and I say "never" (well, really I don't want another till
I'm done with college, but that's at least 2 years).

These shows are saying that having children as teens is acceptable in today's society which is a negative in reality. I'm curious if a poll was taken
and it asked high school girls if they think that it is acceptable to be a teen mom.

To follow these girls around with a tv crew is promoting their behavior because commen sense tells us if you are on tv whatever you are doing is cool.
Unless its a show like locked up or something and then there are probably some who think being a prisoner would be cool.

If you are 17 and married to your high school sweet heart and the man is working then have kids till your ovaries fall out as long as they are being
supported.

These girls on the show are unwed jobless drama queens being immortalized for their poor teenage decisions all for the sake of tv at the expense of
whatever young female minds that might be watching.

And I never personally called anyone stupid unless I knew them and in that case I'm not the only one who would have said that. I'm just giving a
perspectIve from my neck of the woods. When the women from my neck
Of the woods stop having kids on a 10 month cycle my assessment will change.

Originally posted by marbles87
These shows are saying that having children as teens is acceptable in today's society which is a negative in reality. I'm curious if a poll was taken
and it asked high school girls if they think that it is acceptable to be a teen mom.

No it isn't. You're saying that that is what it is saying.

To follow these girls around with a tv crew is promoting their behavior because commen sense tells us if you are on tv whatever you are doing
is cool. Unless its a show like locked up or something and then there are probably some who think being a prisoner would be cool.

It isn't promoting their behavior because they are doing it in a way that shows that it isn't easy.

If you are 17 and married to your high school sweet heart and the man is working then have kids till your ovaries fall out as long as they are
being supported.

These girls on the show are unwed jobless drama queens being immortalized for their poor teenage decisions all for the sake of tv at the expense of
whatever young female minds that might be watching.

Seems like your personal judgment of them won't let you see that other female minds watching may not be seeing whatever or however you seem to be.

ETA: Here are your poll results:

Last summer, in a national telephone poll of young people ages 12 to 19 commissioned by the National Campaign, 82 percent of those who had watched
“16 and Pregnant” said the shows helped them understand the challenges of pregnancy and how to avoid it. Only 15 percent said the show glamorized
pregnancy. In a study with Boys and Girls Clubs of America chapters in one Southern state, the campaign learned that after watching “16 and
Pregnant” with a group leader, nearly half the teenagers talked to a parent about it.

I only know one teen mom who is "related" to me through marriage. She was never allowed to watch that show. Of course there is Bobbi who also does
not watch that show and is on her 5th kid from god knows who and I think she is 31.

Still forgetting about the child. Every one of those tv mums break down and cry all the time because of the hassle of having a kid.

Name one parent who has not cried or broke down over the hardship of having a kid? I know parents going crazy beause of their kid and they planned the
kid.

So just because the girl sheds a tear which teen girls can do on command it's scaring other girls away?

Me. I became a father at 17. I have yet to break down like a little b**ch and cry about it. You know what I did? I grew a pair of balls and became a
father. And you know what else? I disapprove of these silly tv shows. I would love nothing more than for them to vanish for all eternity because
they're stupid and do not properly represent being a young parent. But what can I do? I can no more make them go away than I can the crazy right-wing
anti abortion nuts of this country.

Your turn.

How is claiming that abortion is better than starving to death like comparing aids to cancer? Who do you know that starved to death? Okay... Lets not
go there because this is the internet and I'm sure you know all about starvation. Personally, I would prefer a bullet to the head/heart over a slow
and agonizing death any day. Starvation is slow and agonizing, just in case you didn't know. An abortion is much quicker, and we have no proof that
the "baby" is aware of it. Lets not bring "faith" into this discussion because your religious beliefs do not represent those of the entire world.

Obviously I wouldn't personally go down the abortion road or I wouldn't be a father but I also think that those who oppose it with such passion
really need to grow up and allow people to make their own choices.

As for you perfect world being possible... Prove it. Is a perfect world possible? Or do you think your version of a perfect world is possible? What if
what you think is perfect differs greatly from what myself or others think is perfect? Just because something is "perfect" for you does not mean
that it is perfect for others and to claim otherwise just reeks of narcissism.

“There is no question that these shows are affecting the conversation about teen pregnancy and teen motherhood,” said Sarah Brown, chief executive
of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “This generation of teens is very oriented to reality shows in general. They seek
them and they believe them. These shows resonate powerfully.”

This lady just said that they are using reality shows to connect with the girls. Reality tv shows are not real life. In real life a tv crew won't
follow you and your kid around. They don't tell these girls the moms get money from the show and in real life you will be flipping burgers. The moms
are getting plastic surgery too everyone gets that in real life too.

Shoot a teen mom that takes the bus everywhere that is working at Denny's 6 days a week to make ends meet because she has no idea who the dad is and
I'll get behind scaring these girls into not having kids. But show these girls driving brand new Benz and help and baby sitters oozing out of the
woodwork and I'll say that it's rubbish.

These shows are scripted to be perfect tv so they feed in all the drama that keeps the ratings up and these girls take it as reality this leader of
that org told me so. So do we really want teen mom teaching our young girls how to be moms becAuse that is what these shows are doing.

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